Thursday, 17 December 2009

The best live performer of poetry in the world? And some thoughts on getting noticed

A while back (here) we were talking about which poets are good performers of their work. I've only seen video clips of this one but even so I'm not sure there's a poet alive who can hold a candle (careful!) to Chloe Poems. Here's a little something I watched this morning via a facebook link from Chloe's other half Gerry Potter:

Some of Chloe's output is a lot ruder than that (much, much ruder) so it's not for everybody (though it probably should be). Living here exiled, as I am, in a very beautiful but very suburban and sometimes polite-to-the-point-of-real-rudeness part of the world, a few snatched moments with Chloe and her delightfully free mouth can sometimes make my day feel more real somehow. And you should hear her on Jesus...and the Queen...(though not together...at least not yet).

Also this week I've been dipping into a couple of books I found in the library by Scottish poet John Glenday. I saw his name for the first time the other week (on a website somewhere) and noticed that the very marvellous musician, singer and songwriter Kim Edgar was playing at the launch of his new book 'Grain' (remember Kim played at an event I organised in Edinburgh back last year – she's brilliant). Then I noticed one of Glenday's books in the local library poetry section, liked its title 'Undark' (Peterloo Poets 1995), opened it up and saw a poem called 'Colours' with the first line “Memory is blue. Yes,” All those factors made me take that book (and an earlier one of his, 'The Apple Ghost') home.

And all that makes me wonder – what makes you pick up a book (especially a poetry one) and take it home for closer inspection? In that case (for me) I suppose it was a mixture of online mention, link with someone whose work I like, stand-out book title and a good first line inside. As folk have been saying elsewhere recently there's a lot of poetry about and it can be a fight to get noticed...so these things matter I suppose (if you want to be read...or heard)- even if it does take some readers (like me...) 14 years (at least...) to get to you (sorry, JG). Luckily poetry (on the whole) does not have a sell-by date so this year's must-have book is no more must-have than anything that went before (and anything to come). We are not in a race for the poetry Xmas number one after all...and thank X for that.

For me it's a mixture of recommendation - if I poet I really like recommends someone else I'll definitely check it out (ie Kenneth White as recommeded by swiss), people whose poems I've consistently liked in magazines (Claire Crowther), sometimes just by vaguely web-surfing and coming across a poet whose work I like (you). Also by publisher - I've just ordered a batch of chapbooks from Happenstance just beacuse I generally like what she publishes.

I've been meaning to write something about the "too many poetry books" (Conclusion: we've got too much creativity altogether... but in the wrong areas. If we, as a species, spent as much time saving the planet as we do writing poems or songs or making paintings or writing novels, etc. think how good it'd all be.)

What makes me pick up a book? What I've read. But I like impulse buys as well which can involve nothing more than opening at random and finding a line I like. Sometimes simply for the niceness of the book as well... a nice cover can do it for me. :)

Maybe, Weaver, but the times need to keep achanging, don't they? He's got passion (Potter/Poems) that's for sure. And talent.

D - we can put out poetry books and save the planet...it's not an impossible combination (though it takes work, planning, strategies, sacrifices...). I did contribute to the 'too many books' debate at Magma...sort of...not sure anyone noticed.

Yes we can and I hope we continue to put out poetry books... I quite like them. :) But whether we can continue to put out millions upon millions of books, pieces of art, song, etc. every year and come to some kind happier world as a result, hmmm, I'm not sure. (And that's not the same as me saying "no".) If only we had as much imaginative dioarrhea when it comes to charity, technology and local politics.

I'll get off my soapbox now and say that I found Chloe rather entertaining. :)

Yes, Liz, I am certainly more inclined to think that way. I think anyone (and I mean anyone) who says anything like 'I can have a book of poems out but you can't/don't deserve it' is well on the road to having their head up their arse. It may be inconvenient in some ways to be flooded with creative outpourings (some that we approve of, some that we don't) but it will settle down (and if not there'll be a nice world war or something along soon to keep us all busy and distracted from too much enjoying ourselves).

Chloe does get to London sometimes I think...though of late it has been more Gerry than Chloe doing the shows maybe. But there are myspace pages for both so I'm sure they would have any dates for next year (plus lots more clips).

Glad you liked this Cuban. Poetry can all get a bit too polite at times...well, for me anyway.

Given that if there were controls on the number of poetry books they'd probably be coming from a different poetic aesthetic than mine, I'm glad there's such a variety out there. (I hope that makes sense) I buy almost all my books (and even most of my poetry books) second hand which is recycling and helping to save the planet. What makes me buy a poetry book? I like to have a poetry book in my handbag at all times, so slim volumes have a particular appeal, some poets I know and love and want to read more, some poets are widely known and I want to find out what's so good about them, a good cover or title can draw me in. I usually stand and read a poem before I buy the book too..